Timeline
by Kaimi Hoshi
Summary: Happy Birthday, Clark! Clark’s time to leave for his training is drawing nearer, so Lois is determined to make his last surprise birthday party something that he’ll never forget. Clois Oneshot. Please leave a review!


**Happy Birthday Clark! (Feb 28th or Feb 29th, either way, it doesn't matter) This little quote at the beginning is from Season 7 Episode 2 "Kara." Thanks for the beta, Lilly!**

* * *

_**Timeline**_

_"Lois, you've had a near-death experience. You should be resting. What are we doing out here?"_

_Lois trudged through the thick, sticky mud and over the scattered broken sticks and branches under her boots with a determined march. "I'm__** going**__ to find out what Lex is up to. Clark, you, on the other hand, are __**not**__ required to attend. After what happened to Lana, why don't you take up Chloe's offer and hang out with her at the Talon?"_

_Clark struggled to keep up with her confident stride with a stumble. "It's dangerous out here. And it seems that keeping you out of trouble has become a bad habit of mine. Besides, it gives me a good opportunity to say goodbye."_

_Lois scoffed with a smug chuckle, "You can't break up with me, Clark. We're not even a couple."_

_Clark's light hearted, country-bumpkin expression turned cold with a solemn frown. "Lois, I'm leaving Smallville... after Lana's funeral."_

_Lois immediately came to a halt, turning a curious eye towards Clark's stern gaze. "Wow, didn't see that coming. Where are you running away to?"_

"_Up North." Clark replied matter-of-factly. "There's something I need to do."_

_Lois raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like Clark to be such a flake. "Well, what about the farm? You can't just let the corn die on the vine."_

"_My neighbour Ben Hubbard -- he's going to run things for a while."_

_It was like a giant blow to the head. Where did he get off announcing such dramatic news so casually? So unexpectedly. The words had been sucked from her lips. Speechless at his sudden blunt and dismissive attitude, she could only give him a dismayed stare._

_"What's wrong, Lois? I thought you'd be happy to get rid of me."_

_"Are you kidding?" She swallowed thickly. This was not the time nor the place to lecture him about his disregard for responsibility, and his lack of consideration for anyone else's feelings but his own, his ridiculous and reckless self-centered ambitions- she would tear him apart later. She calmly settled her simmering notions with a deflection of lightened humor in her voice. "Who am I gonna pick on?" Besides, this was probably all talk and no action. As if he actually has the nerve to leave everyone like that. She shrugged it off. There was no way he would actually go through with it. He's a small time guy. He'd never survive in the real world._

_"I'm sure you'll find someone, Lois."_

* * *

"Lois! You're getting the batter _everywhere_!" 

Lois was suddenly snapped back into reality when her cousin's cries startled her from her memories and back into the Kent family kitchen, where she stared down bitterly at the viscous yellowish mixture of thick, gluey batter in a bright red bowl before her.

"This cake is going to taste like paste if you don't mix it right." Chloe placed her hand firmly over her cousin's hand, rotating the handle of the egg-beater in a circular motion around the sides of the bowl. "Remember the cake you made for him last time?"

"That was a great cake!" Lois defended her deficient culinary skills with a flick of her wrist. "It only took me three times to get it right. It was a great accomplishment for me."

Chloe rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the deflated multicoloured balloon elastics scattered on the table.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let Lois bake the cake." Jimmy piped up from behind Chloe's shoulder.

"Maybe I should have just left you in the basement, copyboy." Lois spat over the roaring of the egg beater she violently spun around in the lumpy batter. She, Lana, and the other pair reporters had busied themselves all afternoon with Clark's birthday preparations. They'd decided it would be best to surprise him with a simple party at the Kent family household instead of dragging him all the way back to Metropolis for a night on the town. Clark preferred orange juice over cocktails anyway.

_Besides,_Lois thought miserably to herself. _It might be the last one we throw for him for a long time._

While everyone else had been occupied with their festive duties, Chloe putting up the decorations, Jimmy wrapping the presents, Lana baking_ backup_ cupcakes if Lois failed to succeed with her chocolate cake recipe, Lois couldn't help becoming distracted by the constant nagging sensation at the back of her mind that this really might be the last get together she had with Clark.

All year, Clark promised that his time to leave was fast approaching. She'd admit she didn't quite believe it at first. She thought he was just restless from being cooped up in the barn for too long and needed a quick getaway.

_But that's what people take vacations for..._Lois grinded her together as her annoyance ran deeper through her mind._ They don't just run away! Honestly! Martha needs to get back here and knock some sense into him!_

Lois would never admit it out loud, but she had come to gain a deep respect for Clark. She admired him. He had it all, the family farm, a pretty girlfriend, a _fantastic _group of friends, herself included, and he seemed fairly content with spending the rest of his life in the corn fields. It was _nice_. Clark really didn't know how lucky he was. His life seemed so simple and carefree. Why would he want to give it all up for a mountain of snow? Who left for the Arctic of all places? Who would anyone want to leave behind everything they'd ever known for polar bears and penguins? Clark was supposed to be the one she could hang out on a Friday night and eat ice cream and watch the sunrise with. He was supposed stay in his snug loft up in the barn and just busy himself with minuscule farm boy tasks. He was supposed to be the meek little _Yes ma, yes pa _kind of guy who never did anything unexpected or anything out of the ordinary. Maybe it was silly, but Lois had come to reliable on his good-natured and sensibility. Their friendship had begun with a rocky start but she could honestly realize that her friendship with Clark had grown into something worth keeping. It was something she could count on. Something she could hang on to, even if the entire world came crashing down around them, Clark would still be in his barn, doing his morning chores. It wasn't fair for him to leave now. Not when she had suddenly began to get some stability in her life. A sense of security.

It just wasn't _fair_.

He was going to hurt everyone. Especially since they had almost no warning whatsoever about his rash and unrealistic plan to spend the rest of his day's snow shoeing through the Arctic. She'd purposely hinted his idea to the others several times, but got almost no reaction. Not Chloe, not Jimmy, not even Lana had a clue about how he was about to abandon them all for an ice pick and a hockey stick.

_So why did he tell __**me**?_

It wasn't like Clark to keep everyone in the dark. He wasn't supposed to have all these secrets bundled up inside. He cared so much for his friends, and especially Lana, so why wouldn't he tell them? Was he planning to just take off? Without even saying goodbye? Was that supposed to make it easier?

_But he told __**me**__! He put this weight on my shoulders! _ Lois could feel the rage building up inside her like a fiery blaze. Her fist bundled up around the handle of the egg beater and spun it faster around the bowl with an intense pressure. _How am I supposed to wake up everyday knowing that it might be the last day that I see him? What makes me so different? Does he think I won't__** care**-!_

"Oh, crap!"

That did it. The egg beater spun the bowl around so fast that flew off the counter and down onto her new bright red pair of designer boots. She reluctantly glanced over at Chloe, who gave her glare of frustration and shook her head, "You are _so_ being demoted."

* * *

"**SURPRISE!"**

Lois sprung out from behind the couch along with the other three party-planners when she heard the front door swing open and pair of trudging boots stomp in from the chilling February winds. She watched as Clark nearly fell backwards and his mouth fell open in astonishment.

"**HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" **She and Jimmy both put a fringy, foil party horn to their lips and blew in fiercely. The wide grin that spread over Clark's face was priceless. It was satisfying to watch such dorky glee shine through his solid exterior.

"Wow," Clark kicked off his boots and let his eyes travel around the kitchen, beaming up at the bright, shimmering decorations and big white banner spread across the doorway that read, _Happy Birthday Clark, _in red magic marker. "It's not exactly the subtle belated birthday card-in-the-mail I was expecting, but I'm not complaining."

_Lying through his teeth. _Lois mused. He probably knew about the whole thing. She wouldn't have put it past Jimmy to accidentally blab.

"Open this first, CK." Jimmy tossed him a squared shaped box wrapped in bright pink Barbie paper.

"Great choice of wrapping paper, Jimmy." Clark smirked.

Jimmy shrugged. "It was the cheapest stuff from the buck store."

Lois took her place on the couch beside him. There was something serene about this setting that Lois liked. It was simple. It was normal. Just watching Clark open his presents. Just sitting contently with the people she cared most about, celebrating something so customary. So traditional. It was one of those Kodak moments that Lois would want to relive again and again. It was one of those moments where the whole world seemed to melt away. It was something only Clark could bring out in her. One of those innocent moments in time where the simplicity of life was appreciated. Something that she would miss more than anything once he left.

_Keep it together, Lane. _Lois folded her arms and crossed her legs. She watched him unwrap a baseball glove from Jimmy that was apparently signed by one of Clark's all time baseball hero's, a designer men's watch, and not one that you would simply pick up at the nearest _Wal-Mart_, it was one of those fancy leather strap watches that were imported from Italy with a funny sounding name _Arcetri _imprinted on the bottom. Lana always had the best of the best; she wouldn't have him settle for less. Chloe, one the other hand, shyly handed him a_ Hallmark_ card with a twenty dollar bill tucked in the middle. She certainly couldn't compete with Lana.

Finally, when he came to her gift, she sat quietly with a condescending grin on her face. _This will get him. He'll __**have**__ to confess everything._ There was no way she going to let Clark off the hook now.

When he opened the lid of the box, Lois thought she saw flicker of anxiousness twitch across his face.

"Gee, Lois...this is...thoughtful." He returned her smile uneasily, as he reached forward and pulled out a pair of two long, wooden racket shaped shoes. "I sure wasn't expecting...snowshoes..."

"I thought you'd get a lot of use out of them." She replied with an arrogant tone in her voice. "You know, since you told me that you were going-"

"Winter camping!" Lois's face fell when he cut her off sharply. "I...told Lois it would be fun if we went...camping...in the snow."

The three of them could give him a blank stare.

"I think I'll pass on that one, Clark." Chloe replied, trying to smother an amused grin.

"CK," Jimmy added with a bit of uncertainty in his voice. "You do know that it's..._cold_ out there, right? Like, freezing cold. Like, runny nose icicles kind of cold."

"I know," Clark defended himself while still staring at the snowshoes with a bit of disbelief in his face. "But it's...a lot of fresh air."

Lois couldn't believe him. She could feel the fury building up in her chest. She glared at him. He would rather make an idiot out of himself than just tell them the truth. What's so difficult about saying goodbye? It's one little word. Why couldn't he just let them have that?

* * *

Lois shivered and zipped up the front of her jacket as she planted herself on cold wooden stairs that led to the loft of the Kent barn. The sharp winter air stung at her nose and the unsanitary scent of dog hair set off her allergies set her into a brief sneezing fit before Shelby finally crept out from his hiding place and joined her on the stairway. 

"Well, it's better than being stuck inside with such a phoney birthday boy, isn't it?" She patted Shelby on the head gently and his tail waved back and forth in agreement.

_Where does he get the nerve? Who said he could just lie to them like that!_ Lois couldn't dismiss her fierce agitation with Clark. _After everything we've been through, how could he just want to screw everything up?_

"I gave him the perfect opportunity to confess everything, didn't I boy?" Lois sniffed as she ran her fingers along Shelby's warm, fuzzy pelt with a soft stroke of her hand. "Why does he have to be such an idiot?"

"You're one to talk."

Lois rolled her eyes. She gazed over the top of Shelby's head and watched as Clark's familiar figure wander through the entranceway of the barn and stepped out of the shadows, meeting her with soft gaze.

"You did the decorations, didn't you?" Clark gave her an expectant grin.

"I_ was _baking cake. But I was demoted to the decorations when the stove caught fire...how did you know-"

"There are two _P's_ in _Happy_, Lois. Not one."

"Oh." There is was. The beginning of that terrible, unsettling awkward silence that she despised so much. She was angry with him. It didn't matter how long they danced around the subject. She knew that any minute she was going to burst out every negative thought all over him if she didn't say _something._ "Come to get your snowshoes then?" Lois tilted her head and gestured to the corner of the barn, where the snowshoes leaned up against the wooden planks of the barn walls. "Well go on then. But don't come crying to me when your toes freeze off. Or when Lana won't speak to you. Or when Chloe won't look at you. Or when Jimmy-"

"I'm sorry."

Lois closed her mouth. _Well that certainly wasn't anticipated. _She raised an eyebrow. "Sorry for what?"

"For telling you I was leaving. I didn't mean to make it difficult in any way for you, Lois. I'm sorry. I thought you...would want to know."

"Of course I want to know! But I want everyone else to know too! It's not fair, Clark. You can't just expect them to forget about you."

Clark lowered his gaze and stepped forward. Lois felt her stomach lurch. She hated _these _kinds of moments. The kind where butterflies flew around the bottom of her gut. Knowing that this conversation was only going to end with somebody getting hurt.

"Why did you tell _me_? Did you think I wouldn't care! It's not fair. I don't want to keep your secret all on my own. Why can't you tell them-?"

"They're not as strong as you are, Lois."

Lois fell silent at that. Not quite understanding what Clark was getting at.

"You handled the truth better than any of them would. I know I can trust you. I know you'll take care of them. You care about friendship, Lois. That's why I told you. Because you care _the most."_

Lois was left almost speechless. She couldn't remember at time when Clark had been so open and so honest with her before. It was touching to feel such a comfort in his voice. Reassuring to know that their friendship meant as much to him as it did her, and that he wasn't just dumping it aside. If anything, he was making it stronger by telling her something so important.

"Why do you have to go?" Lois was starting to feel a hot flush rush into her cheeks as the sharp sting of threatening tears pricked her eyes. She hated to cry. It was so embarrassing. But she couldn't have cared less right now. She wanted Clark to _stay._ And she was willing to do anything to keep him here. "I mean...do you have to save a family of baby seals or something? Do you have to...build shelters for the orphan Inuit children? Why do you have to be a hero, Clark? Why are you going there?"

Clark opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again. He stared hard at her as if he were mustering up the courage to say the right words. "There are...some people there that have offered a lot to teach me. I need to accept it." But he added with a quick flash of a reassuring smile. "But I'll be back."

"How do I know that? You might just decide to stay and live in an igloo for the rest of your life!"

"Lois," Clark paced forward and locked his bright blue eyes with hers and nodded. "There isn't anything in the world that could keep me away."

There was a deep sincerity in his eyes. He meant what he said. Lois swallowed thickly. "I have something for you. A present. Before you go."

Clark blinked and tilted his head. "But I liked my snowshoes-"

"That was a _joke,_ Clark. It was _supposed_ to get you to confess." She gestured with her hand up towards the loft. "I've made you something better."

She stood up as he walked forward, taking his hand, she led him up the stairs with Shelby at her heels.

"Okay," She stopped at the top of the stairs and turned around to meet his soft, patient gaze. "You have to promise to never _ever _take it down, alright?"

Clark nodded hesitantly, "Ok...uh, take what down, Lois?"

She bit down on her bottom lip eagerly. "This." She bounded up the last two stairs, dragging him along behind. Lois whirled around and spread out her arms. "_Ta-da_."

Clark's mouth fell open. His eyes traveled around the room, practically bursting out of his head.

It was like a giant web of rainbow colored thin yarn that streamed back and forth stretching from wall to wall on the ceiling. Clothesline hangers and paper clips dangled from the strings, clipping hundreds of photographs to the ceiling inches apart from one another.

"What...is this?" Clark mumbled, breath taken away by the hundreds of memories suddenly recalled all at once from images hanging only inches above his head.

"This," Lois said with a proud toothy grin on her face. "Is a timeline."

"A timeline?" Clark wandered forward, becoming fascinated with the hundreds of fluttering photographs attached to wavy scribbles of strings muddled up on the ceiling.

"It's a timeline of your life. From when you were three years old to now." Lois elaborated. "It's got pictures from your Mom's, Chloe's, Lana's and even my own photo albums. From you're first two wheeler bike to your graduation. Everything is on here."

Clark was mesmerized. Becoming entranced by such a lifetime of wonderful memories weaving right before his eyes.

"This way," Lois's voice shook as she spoke. "You'll never forget us. No matter where you go. I know you'll come back to this barn. And when you see your timeline, you'll come back to _us_."

Clark gestured towards the other side of the room on the ceiling. The lines continued to weave back and forth, but there were no pictures or hooks hanging from the yarn.

"That part is for when you get back." Lois said, following his wandering eyes. "You can add to it. When you get more pictures, have more memories, you can add to your timeline. So you'll have them and be able to see them in front of you forever."

"Lois...this is...amazing." Clark beamed at her, squeezing her hand affectionately.

"You have to promise that you'll never take it down. And that you'll have tons of pictures to add to it when you come back."

"I will, Lois." Clark quickly pulled her closer, and took her into a gentle embrace of his arms. "I promise."

Lois sniffed. Clark brushed away the single tear she let escape from her eyes. "Happy Birthday, Clark."

Clark placed a soft kiss on the top of her forehead. "Thank you, Lois. I promise, I _will_ come back. To _you_."

* * *

**It was really just a short drabble I came up with in Math class today. Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review! They are much loved!**


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